


find me at the end of the maze

by lesirain



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff and Light Angst, M/M, beomkai are idiots that we stan, i cant write angst thank you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:27:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 6,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25758106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesirain/pseuds/lesirain
Summary: school sucks.but hey, he has his music.and Kai.
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu/Huening Kai
Comments: 5
Kudos: 19





	1. i stretch my hand along the light

**Author's Note:**

> hello. did I write 6k just to gush about beomkai? yes. yes I did.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soft melodies greet Beomgyu as he climbs up the rickety steps to the music room.

Soft melodies greet Beomgyu as he climbs up the rickety steps to the music room. To be honest, it's not what he would call a music room. It doesn't boast state of the art speakers or air conditioning, but rather, looks more like a desolate attic collecting dust. 

The only thing that is worthy of claiming it as a music room is the piano that takes up half the space. Beomgyu thinks that the piano must date back to the 19th century, because it groans whenever he tries to lift the cover, but other than that, the piano has maintained its pristine condition. 

Beomgyu contemplates turning back and finding another empty room to practice his music. His curiosity, however, insists and he mounts the last step, wincing slightly as it emits a noisy creak. He freezes, and checks to see if the mystery occupant has noticed.

The music continues without stopping, so Beomgyu breathes in relief, and cranes his head to take a peek in between the crack of the door. 

+x+ 

_' All grown up now, huh? ' Taehyung pats Beomgyu on the back, brotherly affection oozing from the proud smirk he wears._

_' Aish, hyung, stop it,' Beomgyu tells him, in what he hopes is a mature and polite tone that he will try his best to use once he enters highschool. All it does, to his dismay, is to prompt his other brother to pitch his voice higher, mimicking Beomgyu. He watches as both his brothers collapse in a fit of laughter, and can only sigh in resignation._

_' Jokes aside, Beomie, if you ever need a place to practice, there's an abandoned music room in the top floor of the west wing. ' Taehyung nods solemnly, as his twin imparts the wise words to his younger brother._

_' Isn't it the one where you and Yoongi-hyung would go during free periods?' he chips in, earning a smack from Jungkook._

_' Are you sure it's not haunted?' Beomgyu raises his eyebrows, and Jungkook stares at him, unamused._

_' It's a secret, though, don't go around telling anyone!'The two brothers warn._

_Beomgyu eventually does check it out, during his first free period, and he falls in love with the quaint little room on the top floor of the west wing._

+x+ 

With the golden sunlight streaming in from the window, the room is illuminated in a pale orange that goes well with the plaster white walls. The large piano takes center stage with someone hunched over their scores, furiously writing notes. 

The music has long stopped, but Beomgyu waits for the stranger to reveal themself. After an eternity of writing, the mystery occupant raises his head.

His side profile is immaculately lit up with the sun, and Beomgyu swears that his heart just skipped a beat. Long,messy locks curl in whisps,adorning his forehead like a crown. The stranger has long lashes that frame his caramel eyes. 

Beomgyu notes several moles spread out over his honey brown skin, resembling stars that dot the night sky. His upturned nose and full lips make him look like a prince from those K-dramas that Beomgyu secretly watches under the comfort of his bed.

Beomgyu forgets to breathe.It seems like a picture out of a romance novel, where the male lead accidentally stumbles upon his one true love. Except that the stranger turns his head, shaking it slightly to get rid of his hair, and catches sight of eyes staring at him through the crack.

Beomgyu backs up. He trips over the stairs and lands with a thud. He hears scuffling, as the piano bench screeches and the door opens. 

First thing Beomgyu realizes is that this guy has incredibly long legs. Like really, really long.

Second thing is that he must have embarrassed himself, butt flat on the ground, his legs sprawled out. Not the kind of impression that he was going for.

' Are you using the room, sunbaenim? ' the guy asks him, bowing respectfully after helping Beomgyu to his feet. 

  


' Ah, yes, but you came here first. By the way, how did you know about this room?' Beomgyu busies himself by dusting his jacket and adjusting the third year uniform.

' I was exploring the school when I found this room, sunbaenim, I didn't know anyone else would be using the room.' The first year student, apparent from the badge pinned on his blazer. His junior looks down at his badge and chuckles nervously, explaining that it was compulsory to wear it as long as he was in school. 

‘ Oh? It wasn’t compulsory back when I started. I feel sorry for you- I’d rather die than get caught with that.’ Beomgyu relishes the cheated stare the other gives him, when he realises that if only he was born older, he would have gotten away from wearing the ridiculously tacky badge. 

Then his junior frowns at Beomgyu and lifts his watch to take a glance. Upon checking the time, a high-pitched dolphin screech makes its way out of his mouth before the first year darts down the stairs and out of Beomgyu’s sight.

‘ Hey!’ Beomgyu yells at the empty stairway. ‘ You left your scores!’


	2. my shoulders are only here so you can rest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> __
> 
> _'Hyung, mint choco is a blessing. I will not take that back.' Kai sticks his tongue out childishly._
> 
> __
> 
> _' Prepare to fight in the parking lot tomorrow, peasant.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ⊂(≧∇≦)⊃
> 
> forgot to post this yesterday..... so accept two chapters as an apology..
> 
> comments make my day!! <3

+x+ 

The next time he sees the boy is when the sky is pouring. 

He’s already texted his hyungs to inform them that he’ll be staying back in the school to avoid the rain. It’s a perfect excuse- he doesn’t have an umbrella with him now and he really does need to start working on the first term assignment. This time, when he enters the room, there isn’t music,so he doesn’t expect to see the boy leaning out of the window. 

‘ Be careful?’ Beomgyu tells his back.

The boy whips his head backwards and swerves it to face Beomgyu immediately, who worries for the boy's neck. 

' Ah... sunbaenim?' The boy bends over and does a 90° bow forward. Slightly overwhelmed by the amount of respect that he gets, Beomgyu takes a step back. 

' I see you're practising? Wait, is your hair wet?' Beomgyu states the obvious as water droplets gather around the tips of the boy's hair and falls off like crystals. 

' Yes, sunbaenim, actually, there's a bird nest, and I was afraid that it'd get wet,' the boy explains, and gestures to one of the old cupboards. Beomgyu opens the cupboard to reveal a cubicle housing a nest, with two baby chicks and their mother. 

' Do you mind, I mean we'll have to move them eventually and.....' the boy babbles, but Beomgyu is too distracted by the birds. He can't help but think of Toto, his own bird at home.

'...sunbaenim?...' Beomgyu stands up and nearly collides into the boy. He apologizes sheepishly and is about to pat the boy like one of his close friends until he remembers that he has to at least act like a cold, intimidating senior. 

' You do know that pets aren't allowed.' 

' There's no such rule in the handbook. But can you help me keep this secret?' The boy dismisses Beomgyu's claims. He pulls out a cute pout, and Beomgyu can only let the junior get his way.

+x+

It's been a month, since the Great Bird Reveal, or so the boy calls it. Beomgyu learns that the boy called Kai , has two sisters and a million plushies, is one of the many that pursue music in the school. That's one of the things they share in common. He refuses to tell Kai his name, though, enjoying the whines and pleas from the younger.

They get along well, in the dusty, little room that feels more like home than anywhere else. 

__

_' It's because there's magic in the room, hyungie, can't you feel it?'_

__

_' What magic?? There's only dust here.'_

__

_' What about our birdies? Hyunnnng, how could you forget them?'_

__

_' okay, you win.'_

Beomgyu thinks of the room as a safe haven for the two of them, where the both can play gibberish on the keyboard and sing off pitch as much as they like. It's never a dull moment with Kai, for the younger always manages to chatter on about something, asking for Beomgyu's opinions. He finds a friend in Kai, who gets him more than other people do. He's the only who Beomgyu can ramble about his music to, or how bad the substitute music teacher is, and how the composition exam he faces at the end of the year is going to take ten years off his life. 

They always find something to talk about. Today, it's about their siblings. Beomgyu is shocked to find out that Kai and his sisters get along so well, while he knows that he and his brothers would not hesitate to sell each other for a dollar. 

__

_' Why? Are your entire family full of angels? I can't believe that they're so perfect! '_

__

_He receives a shrug in reply._

Kai is also stunned when Beomgyu bursts into the room one day, claiming he would duel anyone who appreciates mint chocolate. 

__

_'Hyung, mint choco is a blessing. I will not take that back.' Kai sticks his tongue out childishly._

__

_' Prepare to fight in the parking lot tomorrow, peasant.'_

Soon, without knowing, the two have started to decorate the tiny room on the top floor of the west wing. Kai brings in a ton of plushies that have Beomgyu wondering how he fits them all in his bag without being suspicious. 

They hang up some string, and clip Beomgyu's work in progress for the finals on wooden pegs. Kai brings in some candles and terrarium pots and places them all around every flat surface. 

__

_'Why though?'_

__

_' For the aesthetic, hyung, think of the aesthetic.'_

Beomgyu finds a wooden stool that he thinks would fit as a table for the room. And so, he drags the whole thing into the school one day.

__

_' What's that? '_

__

_' It's for an art project, Taehyunnie, don't mind me. '_

__

_' You.... don't take art, hyung, I do.'_

__

_'Shush.'_

Somehow, he manages to pass the chair off as a project work without much skepticism brings it up, positioning nicely in their music room.

Kai puts a fake potted plant on top, after much consideration, so that the chair doesn't look too lonely. 

__

_‘Can we call it a table-chair, hyung?’_

__

_‘ Why?’_

__

_‘ Because it's both a chair and a table!’ Kai enlightens him._

Beomgyu doesn't notice it, but he starts calling it their music room. They don't mind. 


	3. please find me please

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He misses the look™ all three of them share.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> any guesses about the story yet? 
> 
> comments make my day!! <3
> 
> uwu have a nice day!!

' Beomgyu?' 

' Yes, hyung?' He looks up to find Yeonjun, Soobin and Taehyun looking at him in concern.

' You've been talking about your music room friend a lot. Not to mention disappearing during free periods. Are you okay?' Yeonjun asks. 

' Yeah, I'm fine! Also, when are you guys free? I'd like to introduce you to Kai.' Beomgyu resumes digging into his pasta. 

'How about today?' Taehyun suggests, coolly.

' Sure! Fair warning though, Kai's really shy.' Beomgyu stuffs the remaining pasta into his mouth, gathers his things and scrambles off to his next class.

He misses the look™ all three of them share.

+x+

' Kai-yah? I've brought some friends, hope you don't mind. ' He knocks on the door. Soobin is clutching onto Taehyun for dear life, acting as if the stairs would just crumble beneath his feet. 

No reply. No music. He opens the door.

To reveal an empty room.

All the things he and Kai hung up are gone. There's no table-chair, no candles or plants. 

Yeonjun shoves past him and the empty room greets him. 

' Where's your Kai?' 

' He's not my Kai, hyung. To be honest I don't know either.' Beomgyu frowns. It's unlike Kai to be absent during his free period. It's the only time they get to hang out together.

Soobin and Taehyun enter. Upon seeing the empty room, they look at Beomgyu in confusion.

' I- There's supposed to be a table-chair here and some plants here....' Beomgyu waves to the empty room.

' Beomie, you do know it's hard for us to believe that someone else can use this room right? I mean, the paint's peeling off, and everything is so old. Only you would use it here, because you're too focused on your music to register anything else. ' 

Soobin consoles Beomgyu. Soobin hugs Beomgyu, looking at Yeonjun for assistance. Beomgyu lifts his head up, making eye contact with Yeonjun's skeptical eyes.Beomgyu knows that the three of them are up to something, when they don’t joke around or laugh at him.

_They're all in on it._

' Spit it out.' Beomgyu glares. 

'.......' They don't dare to. Until Taehyun gathers his courage.

' Are you sure you're okay, hyung? At the end of the day, you have us, you know, you don't have to make someone up to talk to.' 

__

_Ah. They think Kai's imaginary._

The thought stings more than it should. 

' Kai's real, okay!' Beomgyu yells. 

His friends take a step back. He's never raised his voice before. Beomgyu doesn't like it when they stare at him like a nut case, when they clearly don't believe him at all. 

They're all cornering Beomgyu, and he feels as though he can't breathe, and remembers once again why he'd never shared the room with his friends. 

Because this is their room, and anyone else except for the two of them in here feels oddly uncomfortable.

' Out, all of you. Don't talk to me today. ' Beomgyu all but shoves the three out of the room, slamming the door in their faces as a goodbye.

Beomgyu stumbles backwards, and rakes a hair through his neatly combed hair. He crouches down, tucking his head in between his knees, wishing desperately for Kai. Wishing for comfort.

Kai doesn't come. 

So for the rest of the period, Beomgyu sits there, rocking himself quietly in the corner. 


	4. like the clear sweat that first shed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ' You're so good at remembering things!' 
> 
> Beomgyu preens at Kai's compliment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yet again I realize how much words I've written, and that 4 chapters really isn't enough.
> 
> comments make my day!! <3

The next time he sees Kai, is when the younger is perched on the table-chair precociously, hanging up a string.

' Need any help?' Beomgyu cannot deny the relief coursing through his body when he sees the boy again. Kai turns at the voice, shooting a sunny beam in his direction. 

' Hyung? I overheard some of the teachers saying that they'll be checking the school buildings for the fire drill, so I had to remove everything so they won't know that we've been here. Can you help me put them back?' 

Beomgyu nods, and the pair set to work. Beomgyu replaces the candle placed on the piano with the original potted plant. Under his detailed instructions, they restore the place back to its former glory.

' You're so good at remembering things!' 

Beomgyu preens at Kai's compliment.

Kai asks to see the music syllabus taught for his year and Beomgyu hands over the portfolio. He watches Kai flip the pages carefully, scanning the information like a bar-code reader, before he flops the file onto his lap, proclaiming that he would fail the school with flying colours.

' You're not joking, are you? ' Beomgyu snorts in amusement as Kai flails his hands and let's a screech of despair into his shoulder.

' It'll get easier once you reach my age.' 

' Really?'

'No. You'll learn to complain on the inside.'

+x+

A few weeks go by before he decides to introduce Kai to the others again.

After he kicked them out, the trio gave him some cool down time, which made him feel guilty how considerate they were.

None of them even brought up Kai. Which was something, considering the fact that his friends couldn't keep a secret to save themselves.

To make it up, and to prove them wrong, he opts to invite Kai to join them for lunch outside of school. Which was no easy feat, since the school divided itself into two parts : Year Ones and Twos did everything together, while Year Threes were stuck with the perpetually stressed Year Fours.

Beomgyu planned to ask one of his dongsaengs where Kai was, and which class he was in. 

' Huh? Who's Kai?' Yejun, one of his music juniors, tells him that he's never heard of a Kai in his year at all.

' Are you sure?' Beomgyu doesn't believe that Kai can't be found.

' Yeah! I'm the social butterfly of the Year Ones! I know everyone!' Yejun tells him, and apologises since his next class is all the way on the top floor, he has no choice but to leave fast. 

He leaves Beomgyu standing in the hallway, scratching his head.

__

_Where in the world is Kai?_

He tries to keep a lookout for Kai as he walks past the junior classes, pretending that he doesn't hear the squeals of his juniors, who see him as a terrifying senior.

Kai is nowhere to be found.

__

_What if your friends are right?_

A pesky little voice rings in his ear. 

__

_You're so stressed that you've made up an imaginary friend! Can you believe this?_

' Kai is real. Kai is real.' Beomgyu mutters under his breath, chanting it like a mantra.

Deep down, he thinks that his friends are right.


	5. in that broken and divided shape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> beomgyu thinks he is a coward. 
> 
> __
> 
> _he is one._

+x+ 

Beomgyu hesitates as he climbs up the stairs to their music room. 

__

_Would it be better to let Kai go?_

But screw it, he decides, since his brain has already made up a friend for him, he might as well be nice.

He turns the knob to be greeted by Kai's signature smile, and he feels as though all his troubles have been washed away.

__

_' Hyung! Let's work on your final piece!'_

Just one day. He promises himself.

He breaks it like he shatters a glass cup. Accidentally, but it's enough to do permanent damage. He spends more and more time with Kai, brainstorming his ideas, talking about the most randomest things in the world.

  
__

_' Would you rather eat bread or ice cream for the rest of your life?'_

__

_' We're working on this bar, Kai, focus. But definitely would choose ice cream though.'_

The days fly by like the aeroplanes Kai points out one day, when they've ditched their work to enjoy the cool, evening breeze.

Beomgyu starts counting down to the dates until his graduation. 

He's bought a calendar at home already, crossing the dates out with a red pen. Red ink is beginning to find its home in the calendar. It's looming on the horizon, and he can tell that it affects Kai to some extent. Kai refuses to talk about it, changing the topic every time Beomgyu brings it up. Beomgyu doesn't say anything. He fervently wishes that as long as they don't talk about it, it won't happen.

In the cool, summer evening, the two celebrate Beomgyu's birthday in March, then the day where Beomgyu receives his results, with some store bought cookies and some grape juice. It's not much, but the laughter he wheedles out of Kai makes up for it. He's happy, to say the least.

Until it's time to say goodbye.

+x+

He doesn't want to leave. Kai also doesn't want him to leave. He's only gotten more clingy, always clutching his arm or holding his hand.

He doesn't want to let go either.

But he will have to, eventually. Beomgyu doesn't admit it, but he's scared. He's terrified that he will forget Kai once he steps out of school and faces the adult world. 

__

_If only I had Kai earlier. Then it'll be alright._

The last day he'll ever see Kai is today. They're having a free period, Beomgyu's last period, to be exact. They both can't drag it any longer.

' Kai-ah?' Kai looks up from tracing Beomgyu's palm lines. He murmurs something unintelligible. He stops drawing lines on Beomgyu's outstretched palm.

' Kai? We....' 

' Did you want me to do a reading for you? I know a bit of palmistry!' Kai feigns cheerfully. Beomgyu says nothing about the way Kai is gripping his hand.

__

_Even now, they refuse to face reality._

' Sure!' 

Lifting Beomgyu's palm up to his eye level, Kai starts to mark out the different lines on Beomgyu's palm.

' Since when did you know how to do this?' 

' Oh. My sister used it to impress a guy, and forced me to learn it with her.' 

Kai informs softly, and rests Beomgyu's palm onto his knee.

' See this line here? That's your love line. And this one is your wealth line. This one here, is your health line.' 

' Kai, English please.' 

' Sorry hyung, forgot you don't speak intelligence. ' Kai quips, and Beomgyu tsks at him. Kai resumes telling him about his fortune anyways, in a more easy to understand word choice.

' The lines on your hand all mean something. For example, this one is your health line, it tells me about your general health and all that jazz.

This one tells me about your wealth, how your career is going to go once you-' 

Kai pauses mid-speak. Beomgyu now has two options.

One, is to use this slip up to discuss him graduating. 

Two, is to pretend that there's nothing wrong, pretending that Kai will see him again, in the next school year.

Beomgyu is a coward. He can see Kai's lip beginning to tremble, and he blinks faster, his eyelashes fluttering up and down. He doesn't really have to make a choice. It's already been made for him.

' So what's this one?' He points to the last line, which he roughly gathers that it determines his luck in love. 

' That's your love line hyung.' Kai recollects himself, as Beomgyu jokes about hoping to get someone as cute as him.

' Anyone would want you, hyung, you're the most perfect person I've ever met!' Beomgyu smiles, his heart secretly warming since Kai thinks that he's perfect.

The two of them spend the remainder of the period analysing Beomgyu's future, laughing at the silly things they say.

Kai chuckles in between his laughing fits, when Beomgyu cries in dismay when his line says that he'll never find someone perfect for him.

' Just a disclaimer, hyung, I've never lived long enough to witness any of my readings come true.' 


	6. even if it hurts, you can't fight anymore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ‘Guess this is goodbye huh?‘

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyo! i'm back!! 
> 
> so sorry i haven't updated in a while.... i've been busy with exams because the scheduling is terrible. THREE official exams in six months..yeah. 
> 
> so i'm back and ill release everything at once.
> 
> enjoy!!

+x+

The bell rings all too fast. They take their time to pack, slowly placing their scores into the files. But all good things must end.

‘Guess this is goodbye huh?‘

Kai smiles sadly, a single tear streaming down his cheek. Beomgyu moves to wipe it away, but Kai lifts his hand to stop him. 

‘ Don’t forget your scores, hyung,’ Kai tells him, pointing at the papers laying on the piano cover. Beomgyu turns around to pick them up. 

‘Don't be sad hyung, this is only the beginning of your next chapter.’ 

When Beomgyu turns back to look at Kai, the boy has disappeared, leaving no trace of him behind at all. 

+x+

That's how Yeonjun finds him sobbing at 3am in the morning.

' I can't do this hyung, I don't want to graduate. I'll be leaving Kai in our music room, all alone. I can't do that to him. ' 

He wails, tears staining the duvet with small circles. Yeonjun says nothing, merely, rubbing his back soothingly as Beomgyu cries. It's why Beomgyu chooses to call him first, Yeonjun doesn't try to treat him like a child, and understands that Beomgyu doesn't like being coddled.

He hands the tissue to wipe the tears dry, and Beomgyu accepts, folding it carefully in squares, before dabbing at the corners of his eyes.

Yeonjun waits with Beomgyu the entire night, just staring at the window for two hours straight, until they fall asleep.

When Beomgyu wakes up, he seems to have come to terms with something, and tells Yeonjun solemnly.

' You're right, hyung, it's time I let this go. I'm going to get some help.' 

+x+


	7. in front of the mirror, I give in again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> School. He shudders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm crying, its all coming together now....
> 
> almost done, carry on!
> 
> comments make my day!! <3

+x+

Beomgyu swears that he would eventually have to kill Yeonjun sooner or later. He's sitting in the backseat of Yeonjun's car, who seems way too pleased with himself for managing to wrangle Beomgyu out of his studio to join him for the school reunion.

School. He shudders. Yes, adulting is hard, but he would give anything to avoid the surly music sub that always seemed out to get him. It's a miracle that he didn’t suffer trauma from all times the sub was breathing down his neck.

He nods his head to the beat of the music Yeonjun's playing from the audio, and stares out of the window.

To be honest, he's never gone back to the school, immediately bolting for the exit after for years of torture there. Well maybe not entirely torture, he's made good friends that stick with him, mainly Yeonjun, Soobin and Taehyun. 

And Kai. 

He still remembers. Even if he was imaginary, Kai was a friend. Nonetheless.

' Thinking about Kai?' Yeonjun breaks the silence.

' How do you know?'

' You've still got that look in your eyes that you used to, every time you were talking about him.' 

' Oh.' He falls silent for the remainder of the journey.

Yeonjun pulls into the parking lot smoothly, and Beomgyu jokes about getting an award for surviving. He gets a jab in the shoulder for that. He doesn’t regret it.

It's been five years since he graduated, but the school looks more or less the same.

' We're late.' Yeonjun hurries him as he receives a text from Taehyun. ' This way.' 

They find the hall without much trouble,having spent the majority of their mornings in there, for four years. He starts mingling in with his former classmates, some which have changed drastically, others not much. He considers that he is one of the latter. He catches snippets of conversations here and there.

' Hey! Are you.....'

' Oh, you look so pretty! I love your......'

' Have you seen......' 

' Remember that one math teacher.....'

Spotting Soobin and Taehyun who is talking away with someone he doesn't recognize, he tugs Yeonjun's shirt and makes a beeline for them.He slips into the existing conversation easily, chatting about how high school math was going to be the death of him at one point. 

' Did you know? There's a former alumni teaching here! He teaches music, apparently.' Soobin informs him. Soobin looks towards a crowd.

'Ah, there, that one.' 

Beomgyu inclines his head out of curiosity. Whatever he was about to say gets caught in his throat.

He'd recognize that face anywhere. I mean, he did wax poetry about him in his head for the last two years in the school.

He seems at ease, casually exchanging smiles with the crowd that gathers around him in curiosity. Occasionally, he glances towards the hall entrance, as if searching for someone.

The guy lifts his head and meets Beomgyu's gaze. His eyes widen for a second, and he takes a step back, nearly bumping into someone. 

Beomgyu's feet have already started to move, and are just very close. But the guy turns tail, and bolts out of the hall. 

Beomgyu doesn't bother to give chase. He knows Kai too well.

It's been awhile.

+x+

He makes his way to the west wing easily, slipping out of the hall unnoticed.

The school looks the same, only older. The railings have begun to peel paint off and the floors have noticeable cracks. The walls are slightly yellowed as Beomgyu turns the corner, facing the familiar stairway. This stairway raises memories from the dead. Memories he buried long ago.

Or so he thought.

He takes his time to climb up the stairs, not bothering to mask his footsteps as the stairs creak under his weight.

He briefly panics that the stairs might collapse with him, but remembers that it won't because he's used the same steps for two years without any accidents.

He opens the door. Sure enough, Kai's there, leaning out of the window, like the first time they exchanged a conversation.

' Be careful ' says Beomgyu, because he’s a sentimental person, sue him, but he'd want to relive the memories of a schoolboy Beomgyu again.

Kai doesn't start this time : he knows Beomgyu would turn up after him.

' Hyung? Is that you?' Kai's voice has deepened slightly, but he retains a similar boyish face from five years ago. This time, instead of school uniform, he's wearing a plaid flannel and jeans. His hair is grown out, curling at the nape of his neck. 

Everything else about his facial features are more or less the same, only sharper and more pronounced to accentuate his jawline.

' Yes, it's me Kai.' Beomgyu rushes towards Kai, hugging him. Kai twitches at the physical contact, before he relaxes into Beomgyu's embrace,his own hands wrapping around Beomgyu’s shoulders. 

' You're real?' Is the first thing Kai says when he stops staring at Beomgyu like the latter is going to disappear.

' What do you mean, Kai-ah? Am I real? What kind of question is that?' 

Beomgyu throws the question back at him.

' I thought you were imaginary!' Kai accuses.

' Huh? Aren't you the imaginary one? I thought I was making you up the entire time! I brought my friends twice to see you, but you were never there!! Aish.... they thought I was crazy! '

' No but explain why I couldn't find you in school at all. You didn't even give me your name!' Kai all but wheezes in defence. Beomgyu scratches his head sheepishly. He forgot about that entirely.

' Well, I searched the whole school for a Kai! ' he retorts, trying to justify.

' ....... my full name is Kai Kamal Huening..... and I went by Huening Kai in school, hyung...' Kai tells him, informing him that Kai is in fact one of his nicknames, that only people who he is close to call him by.

' Oh.... my name's Choi Beomgyu. ' Beomgyu shares and Kai, no, Huening Kai repeats his name. 

' Choi Beom-gyu. What a nice name.' 

' Yah! I'm your hyung, don't call me Beomgyu!' Kai pouts, and they compromise by allowing Kai to call him Beomgyu-hyung if he wants to.

'Wait, let me get this clear. So you're real?' Beomgyu is still unable to wrap his head around it. 

' Yes, hyung, I very much exist. Thank you for noticing. ' Kai deadpans, his expression blank. Then he bursts out in laughter, which coaxes a chuckle from Beomgyu.

' I- can't believe it. You know, I actually went for a session with a therapist because I was scared? I thought I was going crazy from all the stress!'  
He shakes his head in disbelief, voice rising a few octaves high, while Kai giggles uncontrollably from the floor. 

' Stop laughing, you idiot,' Beomgyu scowls when Kai can't stop.

' It's just- ' Kai wheezes, and Beomgyu flicks Kai's forehead in annoyance. Kai holds a hand out to stop him, placing his other hand on his chest. He inhales dramatically, before quietening down.  
Kai rests his head on Beomgyu's shoulder awkwardly, since he has to bend down to touch his shoulders.  
' How about you lean on my shoulder, hyung? You're too short. ' Kai teases. Beomgyu lets out an offended gasp, but adjusts his head to Kai's shoulders instead. 

' I missed you, hyung,' Kai mumbles softly.  
The two of them slump against the wall, sitting with their knees tucked against their chest. ' It was so lonely without you.' 

Beomgyu hums. ' Did you make any friends? ' 

' No, you were enough.' 

' Really?' 

' Yes.'

‘ You shouldn’t have done that, Kai, you had two more years,’ Beomgyu chastises, receiving a shrug in reply.

‘ I don’t regret it. Besides, I was really,really shy then,’ Kai recounts. ‘ I wouldn’t speak unless spoken to.’


	8. my shoulders are only here,so you can rest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 194 : Still no Hyung.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is special, because we finally see things in Kai's perspective.
> 
> ~~alternative title : beomgyu and kai are idiots, but we all love them.~~
> 
> NOTES:
> 
> ' Hyung ' with a capital H refers to Beomgyu, since Kai doesn't know his name at all.
> 
> +1 : Kai's classmate Yejun is a member of the group E'LAST, but i haven't had the time to research on his personality, so I put him as a cheerful, happy-go-lucky person!

+x+

_Kai frantically shoves the candles and potted plants into his bag. Picking up his plushies, he curses himself for bringing so many of them here._

_He squeezes the plushies into a cupboard, muttering an apology for crushing them to death as he pushes against the cupboard door._

_Once he sees that the door doesn't pop out, he turns to the wall, tenderly unclipping Hyung's work and slotting them into his file. After making sure that the papers are uncrumpled, he tears the string off the wall, bundling it into an oddly shaped ball, before he packs it in his bag._

_He surveys the room. It looks untouched, every inch the abandoned room that Kai first discovered._

_Except for the table-chair. Kai glares at the offending item, which sticks out like his grey sock among a chest full of white school socks. [ he's never been able to find the other sock.]_

_Kai kicks the chair under the piano, and arranges it so that it lies out of sight._

_Good enough, he thinks and heads out of the room. He contemplates writing a note to inform Hyung on why he had to remove everything, but thinks against it, in case the teachers find the note._

_He’ll have to explain later._

He darts down the steps and twists into a corridor quickly, just in time as the discipline master and several teachers walk past the stairs. Luckily, they don’t go up the steps, but Kai figures that he won’t put the things back into place yet, he’ll have to do it next time. 

_Kai makes his way to the canteen. It’s after school, and he’s just waiting for his older sister, Lea, who’s a Year Four, so that they can go home together. The canteen is crowded with students, and Kai thinks that he has at least bumped into more than five students on his way to find a seat._

_From where he’s sitting, he has a great view of the corridor where most students appear from, and scans the crowd for his older sister. And his Hyung. Should he choose to appear._

_None of the people he passes look remotely like his hyung. If only, he grumbles for the thousandth time, if only his hyung had bothered to give him a name, then he would ask his sister, or a senior for him. He cranes his head higher to look further past the crowd._

_‘ Who are you looking for?’ a voice from behind asks. Kai turns around, confused. Staring back at him is another student in his year. Kai simply stares back at him._

_‘Oh, sorry, I’m Yejun! You’re in my class, right?’_

_‘ Ah…. I’m Huening, it's nice to meet you.’ They shake hands, as Kai smiles softly. ‘ I’m looking for my sister and-’_

_He pauses. Yejun is one of the first to talk to him, and Kai doesn't want to make a bad impression. He shouldn’t really mention that he has a friend whose name he doesn’t know._

_‘ And then we’ll head home.’ Kai fibs. Yejun doesn’t press on it. They make aimless conversation,about the weather, or about the upcoming exams. Yejun is someone that Kai might befriend in the future, but for now, Hyung’s enough._

_He keeps an eye on the crowd, hoping that Hyung will appear before his sister does although he knows it won’t happen, because for the past few weeks he’s been here, Hyung has never appeared at all._

_Kai still clings onto the hope though._

_‘ Ning Ning! There you are, you didn’t have to wait for me! How long have you been waiting, huh? An hour?’ His sister Lea, bounds up to him, interrupting his conversation with Yejun. He bids goodbye to Yejun and heads off with his sister, nodding as she chatters about her day._

_Day 194 : Still no Hyung._


	9. i think it's not even a big deal to fit me in a big frame

+x+

‘ You waited for me? For an hour everyday? I feel bad now…’

Beomgyu jokes, as he watches Kai turn crimson.

‘ I was also waiting for my sister…’ Kai mumbles. Beomgyu pretends not to hear him. He smiles, his heart knowing that Kai was trying his best to find him.

‘ But now, I know your name. And you know that I'm not imaginary,’ Kai flails his hand, asking an unspoken question. 

What now?

The game of hide and seek that they’ve been playing is over. But who is the winner here? 

+x+

' Who's this?' Taehyun pokes at Beomgyu inquisitively. ' Aren't you the music teacher here?'

' Yeah, I'm Kai! '

' That's Kai? ' Taebinjun swivel to face Beomgyu, who shrugs at them.

' Your Kai?'

Beomgyu opens his mouth to answer-  
' So you're the infamous Kai. Nice to meet you. I'm Yeonjun, and these are my two side characters, Taehyun and Soobin.' Yeonjun drawls, ducking as Taehyun swings a fist at him. 

Kai's mouth splits into a grin so big and infectious that Beomgyu can't help but coo at. 

' So cute, my Kai Kai. ' 

' No, don't call me that, hyung,' Kai pouts. 

At the corner of his eye, Beomgyu can see Taehyun mouthing the word 'whipped'. He sends a glare back in return. Taehyun pretends to shiver, pulling a face that makes the five of them chuckle. 

' It's nice meeting you, Kai-ssi,' Ever polite, Soobin reaches out to shake Kai's hand, but Kai opts for a high five instead. 

' Ah, just call me Kai, since you're all older than me. ' He smiles, attacking Beomgyu with another wave. 

A clap of thunder rings out from outside the hall, inciting murmurs from the guests. 

' Guess we'll have to stay here longer, eh?' Yeonjun sends a subtle wink to Beomgyu. Soobin snorts, disguising it as a cough.

' Let me show you guys what the school has added now! Can you believe that we have a two-storey library now?' Kai suggests, tugging Beomgyu by the sleeve. He bounds forward, dragging Beomgyu who willingly follows. 

' Really?' Taehyun gapes with his mouth wide, as he rushes to catch up.

' Yeah...' Kai rattles off like a recording, playing his role of a tour guide.

He takes them to the heritage gallery  
[' waste of money if you ask me'],

reunites Taehyun with the library  
[' I'm in love '  
' With books? Ew. '  
' Shut up, heathen.' ], 

sneaks them in to the staff lounge for a cup of coffee  
[' now we know where the school's budget goes to' ]

introduces the newly built indoor sports hall  
[' wish we had this' ]

and lastly, brings them back to their old classroom.  
['hey, that sticky thing is still on the ceiling!'  
' oh my god, who put it there again?']


	10. at the end of the maze [is the exit.]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welcome one, welcome all! 
> 
> we're finally done!!!!
> 
> this is the longest of my works so far, so i hope you like it!!
> 
> thank you for reading this!!!
> 
> -lesi

' Should we exchange numbers? I mean, I don't want to lose you again, hyung,' Kai holds up his phone, waiting expectantly.  
Beomgyu raises his hand to take the phone, in doing so, brushing past Kai's hand. 

_so soft_

Beomgyu chuckles to himself, typing his contact information in. He makes sure to add a heart next to his name, you know, for fun.

' What's so funny? Oh no, did Lea send me a picture of Bahiyyih trying to stuff marshmallows in her mouth again? I swear, sometimes my sisters they-' 

Beomgyu cuts Kai off. 

' Nothing. When are you free? Let's go out for lunch?'

A pause. A beat. And then- 

' I mean with the others off course..hahahaha' Beomgyu grimaces. 

_seriously? what's going on today Choi Beomgyu? did you just say 'hahaha' verbally? Oh my god, Choi Beomgyu he's gonna think your stupid and he's gonna reject you and then you'll spend the rest of your days crying and whining and then the only love songs you can write are all about him and your company will fire you for being stupid and you'll be homeless forever_

' I'd love to.' 

_what?_

' You mean as a date or what?'

_time to migrate to iceland. does iceland allow me to change my name?_

' Where should we go?' Pink is dusting Kai's cheeks, and somewhere along his internal panicking, taebinjun have all left the both of them alone.

' Uh, maybe we could arrange a day to revisit our school memories?

' Then let me arrange it. I know just the place.' Kai smiles downs at Beomgyu.

' Alright. So, when are you free?' They've reached the school gate. Kai reaches out to hold onto one of the metal bars that frame the gate, Beomgyu following suit.

' Thursday. 7 pm? Will you be free then?' Beomgyu takes a while to think, and nods his reply. He gets a huge beam from Kai in return. 

' How wide can you smile?' He asks in disbelief. 

' Well, you'll have to wait till Thursday to see. See you later, Choi Beomgyu!' Kai swoops in to peck Beomgyu on the cheek before scrambling back to the school trying his best to avoid the rain, reddish hues spotting his face. 

Beomgyu finds that he doesn't have the heart to scold the younger boy for his informality. As he clutches the umbrella, he lifts his hand to brush over his cheek. 

His insides feel like a turbulent of emotions, nervousness and anticipation for Thursday going round and round his body. Beomgyu shivers, and only when the wind pelts him with another wave of rain, does he start to walk out.

Thursday couldn't come faster.


End file.
